A recent Chancery decision deserves a place in the toolbox of corporate litigators for its nuanced approach that highlights the difference in criteria between a Motion to Expedite Proceedings and the similar but materially different standard applied to a Motion for a TRO. In the matter styled The New York City Employees’ Retirement System v.
Francis G.X. Pileggi
Chancery lets suit over who caused Get Together Inc.’s break-up continue
By Francis Pileggi on
Posted in Court of Chancery Updates
Frank Reynolds, who has been covering Delaware corporate decisions for various national publications for over 40 years, prepared this article.
The Delaware Court of Chancery recently declined to dismiss claims that three venture capital firms disloyally caused the collapse of Get Together Inc. by hastily pulling out of the troubled social media start-up and allegedly…
Updates on SB 21 from Tulane Corporate Law Seminar
By Francis Pileggi on
Posted in Commentary
A PowerPoint with highlights of SB 21 at today’s beginning of the annual Tulane Corporate Law Institute, an event featured many times on these pages in prior years, was part of a panel presentation led William Lafferty of Morris Nichols. For the few people who have missed the tsunami of articles and commentary…
UPDATE on Proposed Amendments to DGCL Section 220–Right to Seek Corporate Books and Records
By Francis Pileggi on
Posted in Commentary
In the few days since the Delaware Legislature proposed Senate Bill 21 to make major changes to Delaware corporate law, there has been a veritable avalanche of commentary by the professoriate, practitioners, and journalists with their predictions of the consequences of SB 21 being enacted into law. See, e.g., article on The CLS Blue …
New Extension of Blog: National Law Review’s Delaware Corporate and Commercial Law Monitor
By Francis Pileggi on
Posted in Commentary
For the last 20 years, I have highlighted selected decisions from the Delaware Supreme Court and the Delaware Court of Chancery on these pages, as well as related topics, including legal ethics. Recently, the National Law Review, a publication that is over 100 years old and boasts over 2 million readers, asked me to…
Chancery Imposes Penalties for Spoliation in Facebook Litigation
By Francis Pileggi on
Posted in Court of Chancery Updates
A recent Delaware Court of Chancery decision provides useful guidance regarding the requirements to preserve evidence in litigation and the potential penalties for spoliation. In the matter styled: In re Facebook, Inc. Derivative Litigation, C.A. Cons. No. 2018-0307-JTL (Del. Ch. Jan. 21, 2025), the court addressed spoliation in litigation involving allegations that Facebook sold personal…
Chancery Rejects Claims Against Controller in Sale of Company
By Francis Pileggi on
Posted in Court of Chancery Updates
A recent Court of Chancery decision determined that the sale of a company initiated by the controller, a private equity fund which was also the largest equity holder in the company, did not run afoul of the business judgment rule. The decision in Manti Holdings, LLC v. The Carlyle Group Inc., C.A. No. 2020-0657-SG…
When Does Friendship Require Judicial Recusal
By Francis Pileggi on
Posted in Selected Articles by Francis
The titular topic was the subject of my latest ethics column for The Bencher, the flagship publication of the American Inns of Court. I have been writing the ethics column for over 25 years, during which I have written many articles on the topic of judicial recusal, some of which are linked in this…
Indemnification Granted for Successful Books and Records Action
By Francis Pileggi on
Posted in Court of Chancery Updates
Most indemnification cases involve successfully defending claims, but a recent Delaware Court of Chancery decision granted indemnification for the successful pursuit of a books and records action, in Gentile v. GPB Capital Holdings, LLC, C.A. No. 2024-0165-PAF (Del. Ch., Nov. 27, 2024).
This decision is noteworthy because it explains the broader scope of indemnification…
Chancery Addresses Indemnification and Escrow Provisions in Merger Agreement
By Francis Pileggi on
Posted in Court of Chancery Updates
The analysis, in the context of a post-merger dispute, of the nuances of an indemnification provision and whether or not escrow funds should be released was the subject of a recent Delaware Court of Chancery decision in Reddy v. 2nd Chance Treatment Centers, LLC, C.A. NO. 2024-0193-SKR (Del. Ch., Dec. 12, 2024). Sitting by…